0 - The Black Vault

THE BDM CORPORATION
flexibility, allowing for a fluid interchange between guerrilla and conventional
modes of warfare in meeting its combat requirements of the moment.4/
The DRV's dedication to the revoli•.onary concept of protracted struggle
and its commitment to tactics aimed at creating a maximum sense of insecurity
througnout the countryside were also significant aspects of the
regime's strategic approach to the war.5/ The degree of insecurity created
by DRV and NLF forces was a reflection of their ability to exploit the
country's geography, available logistics, and the existing hostilities
between the Vietnamese people and the Highland tribes.6/
The regime's primary objective, as Figure 1-1
illustrates, was
the reunification of Vietnam and its eventual communization.7/ To achieve
this ultimate objective, a number of secondary goals were formulated: the
elimination of US presence in Vietnam, the overthrow of the government cf
South Vietnam, and the maintenance of the aid flow from the People's Republic
of China (PRC)
and the Soviet Union (USSR).
The attainment of military objectives was consistently stressed
by the regime as a prereauisite to negotiations.8/ This orientation
evolved as a direct result of the leadership's experience at the 1954
Geneva talks.9/ (See Chapter 7 of this volume for a detailed discus-ion
of negotiations.,, From this point on, negotiations fit the DRV strategic
scheme as an ideal step to be undertaken only when military victory
appeared certain or had already been achieved.
The realities of the conflict,
however, often dictated modifications in DRV strategy,
2. The Objectives and Strategies of the National Liberation Front
in Review
Wnile the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam was not an
autonomous entity, but a creature of Hanoi's making in many respects, it
did establish its "own" set of objectives and strategies.lO/ Many ccin,-
cided neatly with those of the North; some underwent subtle modification or
were alloted a level of priority at variance with those of Hanoi.
A comparison
of Figure 1 1 and Figure 1-2 illustrates both the similarities
between DRV and NLF objectives and their asymmetries._l/ The NLF concurred
with two of the DRV's major goals: the removal of the United States from
Vietnam and the toppling of the Saigon government. The reunification of
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